Standard VI of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, Conflicts of Interest, is about what happens when your own interests quietly pull against your client's. In a two host format, one host explains the material while the other plays a fictional exam candidate, and together they reason out loud through the three pieces the exam tests: disclose the conflict in plain language (VI-A), put client transactions ahead of your own (VI-B), and disclose any fee you receive for a referral before the client acts (VI-C). Using fully fictional scenarios, they work the traps the exam is built around, from the front-running trap to the family-account nuance to the undisclosed referral fee, so you learn to reason through a vignette instead of guessing at it.

Part of a ten-part Ethics season walking through the Standards of Professional Conduct one at a time.

Free practice exam, 90 questions: tottenprep.com

Totten Prep is independent educational content for exam preparation only. It is not investment advice, and nothing in it guarantees any exam result or score. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. Totten Prep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute, and CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of Totten Prep products or services.

Standard V of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, Investment Analysis, Recommendations, and Actions, is about the work behind a recommendation, not the outcome. In a two host format, one host explains the material while the other plays a fictional exam candidate, and together they reason out loud through the three pieces the exam tests: do the work, tell the truth, and keep the proof. That means a reasonable and adequate basis before you recommend or act (V-A), communicating honestly and separating fact from opinion (V-B), and keeping the records that show your work (V-C). Using fully fictional scenarios, they work the traps the exam is built around, so you learn to reason through a vignette instead of guessing at it.

Part of a ten-part Ethics season walking through the Standards of Professional Conduct one at a time.

Free practice exam, 90 questions: tottenprep.com

Totten Prep is independent educational content for exam preparation only. It is not investment advice, and nothing in it guarantees any exam result or score. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. Totten Prep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute, and CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of Totten Prep products or services.

Standard IV of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, Duties to Employers, governs the relationship you live inside every working day: loyalty to the firm that employs you, the extra compensation you are and are not allowed to accept, and what you owe once you are the one supervising. In a two host format, one host explains the material while the other plays a fictional exam candidate, and together they reason out loud through the questions the exam is built around: what you can take with you when you leave a firm and what stays behind, when a side arrangement quietly crosses the line, and why "I did not know" is not a defense for a manager. Using fully fictional scenarios, they work Loyalty (IV-A), Additional Compensation Arrangements (IV-B), and Responsibilities of Supervisors (IV-C), so you learn to reason through a vignette instead of guessing at it.

Part of a ten-part Ethics season walking through the Standards of Professional Conduct one at a time.

Free practice exam, 90 questions: tottenprep.com

Totten Prep is independent educational content for exam preparation only. It is not investment advice, and nothing in it guarantees any exam result or score. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. Totten Prep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute, and CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of Totten Prep products or services.

Standard III of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, Duties to Clients, is one of the most heavily tested areas in Ethics, so this season gives it two episodes. Part two works through Suitability, Performance Presentation, and Preservation of Confidentiality. In a two host format, one host explains the material while the other plays a Level I candidate, and together they reason out loud through the line every advisor has to hold: a great investment is not the same as the right investment for this client. Using fully fictional scenarios, they work the conflicts the exam is built around, so you learn to reason through a vignette instead of guessing at it.

Part two of two on Standard III, inside a ten-part Ethics season walking through the Standards of Professional Conduct one at a time.

Free practice exam, 90 questions: tottenprep.com

Totten Prep is independent educational content for exam preparation only. It is not investment advice, and nothing in it guarantees any exam result or score. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. Totten Prep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute, and CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of Totten Prep products or services.

Standard III of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, Duties to Clients, is one of the most heavily tested areas in Ethics, so this season gives it two episodes. Part one works through Loyalty, Prudence, and Care, and Fair Dealing. In a two host format, one host explains the material while the other plays a Level I candidate, and together they reason out loud through the idea the whole Standard is built on: the client comes first, ahead of your employer and ahead of yourself. Using fully fictional scenarios, they work the conflicts the exam is built around, so you learn to reason through a vignette instead of guessing at it.

Part one of two on Standard III, inside a ten-part Ethics season walking through the Standards of Professional Conduct one at a time.

Free practice exam, 90 questions: tottenprep.com

Totten Prep is independent educational content for exam preparation only. It is not investment advice, and nothing in it guarantees any exam result or score. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. Totten Prep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute, and CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of Totten Prep products or services.

Standard II of the CFA® Program Code and Standards is about protecting the market itself. An instructor and a Level I candidate reason out loud through the two sub-standards of Integrity of Capital Markets: Material Nonpublic Information, including the mosaic theory and the two part test for what counts as material and nonpublic, and Market Manipulation. Using fully fictional scenarios, they work the situations the exam is built around, so you learn to reason through a vignette instead of guessing at it.

Part of a ten-part Ethics season walking through the Standards of Professional Conduct one at a time.

Free practice exam, 90 questions: tottenprep.com

Totten Prep is independent educational content for exam preparation only. It is not investment advice, and nothing in it guarantees any exam result or score. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. Totten Prep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute, and CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of Totten Prep's products or services.

Standard I of the CFA® Program Code and Standards is where Ethics gets practical. An instructor and a Level I candidate reason out loud through the four sub-standards of Professionalism: Knowledge of the Law, Independence and Objectivity, Misrepresentation, and Misconduct. Using fully fictional scenarios, they work the situations the exam is built around, so you learn to reason through a vignette instead of guessing at it.

Part of a ten-part Ethics season walking through the Standards of Professional Conduct one at a time.

Free practice exam, 90 questions: tottenprep.com

Totten Prep is independent educational content for exam preparation only. It is not investment advice, and nothing in it guarantees any exam result or score. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. Totten Prep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute, and CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of Totten Prep's products or services.

Season 1, Episode 1. Two hosts — an instructor and a Level I candidate — walk through how the CFA® Level I Ethics material is structured: the Code of Ethics, the seven Standards of Professional Conduct, how the exam frames ethics questions, and how to reason through vignettes instead of guessing. The grounding episode for a ten-part Ethics arc.

Free 90-question practice exam at tottenprep.com.

This podcast is independent educational content for exam preparation only. It is not investment advice, and nothing in it guarantees any exam result or score. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. Totten Prep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CFA Institute, and CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of Totten Prep's products or services.